CITIES RISING: REBUILDING AMERICA

There’s so much that I love about my job and the amazing experiences this career in journalism has allowed me to have, but at the top of the list is the chance to meet incredible people who are making a difference. They are the everyday Americans who are doing extraordinary things in their communities.

With so much acerbic discourse and negative news dominating the headlines, we wanted to flip the script and share with you some success stories that will make you smile. Our Yahoo News series, "Cities Rising: Rebuilding America," shines a light on the people and organizations in towns across America who are getting it right.

Once some of the most important and thriving cities in the United States, places like Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Buffalo fell on hard times. Now the people who inhabit these cities are working to revive them and bring them into the 21st century. The country, and the world for that matter, is going through a massive transformation, and I’ve always been fascinated to see how people and places are adapting to new technology (hopefully better than I was in 1994). I’ve also always been interested in urbanization and the fact that so many young people are flocking to cities (two-thirds of the world’s population will be living in cities by 2050). That’s why I wanted to see how American ingenuity and innovation was taking hold and revitalizing some of the most important cities in our country.

I've had the opportunity to learn about the tech bubble in Buffalo, the growth of a healthy food hub in New Orleans, a program empowering youth in East Oakland, incredible cutting-edge cancer treatment in Houston, meet HERB in Pittsburgh, and witness a literacy program in Detroit that gave James Samuel the chance to finally write a love letter to his wife - at 56 years old.

Check out my journey through some of the most fascinating cities rising.